VUKOVAR'S HEN-PIGEON THE OLDEST EUROPEAN PIGEON'S FIGURINE

VUKOVAR, Jan 16 (Hina) - The international magazine "Feathered World" recently published an article "Vukovar's Hen-Pigeon" along with a photo of the hen-pigeon's figurine with a Croatian flag behind it. The magazine informed readers that the figurine was kept at the Archaeological Museum in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. Vukovar's hen-pigeon is the oldest figurine of a pigeon found in Europe, and only a Mesopotamian terracotta pigeon dating back to 5th century B.C. is older than this figurine, the article read. Vukovar's figurine was unearthed in 1938 at the Vucedol-Gradac archaeological site near Vukovar, eastern Croatia. That's why this figurine is also called Vucedool's hen-pigeon, the article explained. The figure is an exceptional example of the artistic creation and it is a religious symbol within the 'Great Mother' cult, the Feathered World wrote. Vukovar's hen-pigeon was made between 2800 and 2500 B.C. It is a 19.5-centimetre-high terracotta bowl of worship. Three double triangles and a collar are carved on the neck of the pigeon. Picturesque feathers on the wings and the broad chest, as well as the feathered tip on the head are the clear proof that it was a domestic pigeon, the magazine said adding that it was also the proof that the European pigeon-breeding is older than it has been believed so far. A question has been raised whether this pigeon had been bred from the local pigeon in the Panonian valley or transferred from Mesopotamia. The article also asked whether Vukovar's pigeon had had connections with the worshipped Sumerian pigeon, a forerunner of the archangel pigeon. For the magazine the similarity is striking. (hina) ms